collar & lead introduction

Mornin' all

Help?!
Sox is 10 weeks now & wiil have his 2nd injection this week so it's time introduce collar & lead in preparation of walkies
Decided, as I was up early this morning & everyone else 'out ot the way' (no distractions, Sox fed, watered, cuddles, all relaxed & happy) -Sox allowed me to put the collar on & ensure it was fitted correctly (gave treat) but when I clipped the lead to the collar jaysus he went ballastic! jumping, scratching, biting at the lead, crying etc...... OMG! how bad did I feel??? so I can't imagine how distressed Sox was .... I knew he wasn't particlarly going to like it but I wasn't prepared for that kind of a reaction .... - I feel so bad . I tried to calm him but he was having none of it so I removed the lead, he did calm down but continued to scratch & scratch ....he scratched so much his lil white neck became instantly pink & raw looking - I removed the collar & he sped off into his cage & sat there shaking! He hates me

I need advise off you experts on here as now I'm veyr apprehensive to try again but I know I have to ...... can you guys advise me PLEASE ????

Wen

well for Tommy he has had a collar on since a few weeks old as that's how the breeder identified them all from different colours, so Tommy has always had one , the lead was the next obvious step and he took it without problems as we walk him with his big sister.
However,,, first you must get him used to his collar so maybe once he's settled then try him again , plenty of treats and encouragement and leave him on the collar for a couple of days only to get the feel of it, if you are concerned then take it off at night when he goes to bed. Just make sure he has some fun , maybe games in the garden etc so he associates the putting on of the collar as something good is about to happen, hopefully then he will accept it.
The next step will then be the lead, perhaps it would be useful to have 2 people for this , 1 to clip and 1 to distract , let him drag the lead around in the garden without intervention just to get used to feel of having it behind him , again praise and rewards work wonders here , good luck

Dave wrote:well for Tommy he has had a collar on since a few weeks old as that's how the breeder identified them all from different colours, so Tommy has always had one , the lead was the next obvious step and he took it without problems as we walk him with his big sister.
However,,, first you must get him used to his collar so maybe once he's settled then try him again , plenty of treats and encouragement and leave him on the collar for a couple of days only to get the feel of it, if you are concerned then take it off at night when he goes to bed. Just make sure he has some fun , maybe games in the garden etc so he associates the putting on of the collar as something good is about to happen, hopefully then he will accept it.
The next step will then be the lead, perhaps it would be useful to have 2 people for this , 1 to clip and 1 to distract , let him drag the lead around in the garden without intervention just to get used to feel of having it behind him , again praise and rewards work wonders here , good luck

Dave, you're an early bird too I see
Thanks so much for responding...... I felt terrible & will of course try all you've suggested ...... tomorrow, think I'll leave it for today ..... Sox has only just ventured out of his cage & given me a nose-nudged to play so I hope he's forgiven me
Wen

Yes, first things first. Get him used to the collar before you even think of clipping a lead on! Once he's used to the collar just clip the lead on & let him drag it around, and distract him with loads of silly play & treats. Make it fun.

Once he's ok with having the lead clipped on, pick it up & just follow him around, don't put any pressure on it at all. Then when he's ok with that, give him a little tug (just a little one, mind) and entice him with a treat to change direction a little. You can build it up from there.

Caryll wrote:Yes, first things first. Get him used to the collar before you even think of clipping a lead on! Once he's used to the collar just clip the lead on & let him drag it around, and distract him with loads of silly play & treats. Make it fun.

Once he's ok with having the lead clipped on, pick it up & just follow him around, don't put any pressure on it at all. Then when he's ok with that, give him a little tug (just a little one, mind) and entice him with a treat to change direction a little. You can build it up from there.

Thanks Caryll , I won't be trying again today.... I'll try again tomorrow with the collar....... I think the constant scratching making him pink & raw looking frightened me .... But I'm positive for tomorrow